Following their failure to bring Lionel Messi back to the club this summer, Barcelona were offered an opportunity to re-sign another of their former superstars in the form of Neymar.
The Brazilian icon's time at PSG appears to be running out and reports suggested that he was keen on a return to Barcelona, whom he left in 2017 in a world-record €222 million deal.
Now, Mundo Deportivo is reporting that Neymar was indeed offered to Barcelona this summer by his representatives, along with super-agent Pini Zahavi, who has a good working relationship with club president Joan Laporta.
With Messi opting to join Inter Miami over Barcelona, Neymar's agents saw a window of opportunity to help him secure a move back to Catalonia. And with Zahavi involved, the Brazilian was offered to the La Liga champions in the ongoing transfer window.
However, Barcelona were quick to shoot down the chance to bring the Brazilian superstar back to the club due to two reasons.
The report suggests that the Blaugrana's technical staff did not have any doubts about Neymar's quality - after all manager Xavi Hernandez even played with him.
However, one of the primary reasons for rejecting the PSG star is the financial aspect. Signing him from the Ligue 1 champions would be an expensive operation, while his wages would be a whole different issue especially when Barça are struggling with La Liga's FFP regulations.
Secondly, the Catalan heavyweights did not want to disrupt the harmony and the bonding within the dressing room by bringing Neymar, who can be a divisive figure.
The squad has become a very tight-knit group under Xavi over the past season and a half and the technical staff do not intend to tinker with that.
As such, the opportunity to bring Neymar back was discarded by Barcelona this summer.
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